IL Farmland Sold For Over $10.49 Million Total

Approximately 1,600 acres of Illinois farmland recently sold for a total of $10,492,610, with Schrader Real Estate & Auction Company managing the sale, Ag Professional reports.

The sale included three farms that were being sold as part of the Chapter 11 reorganization of VeraSun Energy to maximize the return for creditors. The auction was closely watched by area farmers and investors as a barometer of the strength of prices for tillable land, according to Rex Schrader, president of Schrader Auction.

“There was a lot of interest in this sale, not only among those seeking to buy the land, but among those who saw it as a test of the strength we’ve continued to see in the market for tillable farmland. Even with approximately 1,600 acres selling in one day, the market absorbed it nicely,” said Schrader.

Approximately 487 acres were sold in
Litchfield, IL, in Montgomery County, which sold for $3,282,610, or an average of $6,740 per acre. The land, primarily tillable farmland, sold to five different buyers, with the two largest buyers including a local buyer and an out-of-state investor seeking land for a possible future grain terminal.

Around 380 acres were sold in Madison County, IL. After active bidding in various combinations, the property sold to a local farm family as an entirety for $2,884,000, an average of $7,591 per acre.

In Vermilion County, in eastern Illinois, approximately 733 acres were sold. After bidding in various combinations, the property sold as entirety for $4,326,000, or $5,903 per acre by a buyer adding to his family’s existing holdings.